


Beta Among Alphas: Secrets of the Lycanburgs

by YazziyousDaydreamer



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Original Work
Genre: Anything goes - Freeform, Dark, Death, Elves, Evil, F/F, F/M, Gods, Harry Potter - Freeform, Help, Humor, M/M, Magic, Magic Schools, Magic-Users, Max is a brat, Monsters, Mpreg, Naga, Nymphs - Freeform, Secrets, Vampires, Veela, Werewolves, Wizard, Yaoi, dragon - Freeform, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 05:49:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18404387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YazziyousDaydreamer/pseuds/YazziyousDaydreamer
Summary: Maxumus thinks he is just your everyday noble with terrible parents and no other family. He quickly finds out that's a lie just like everything else he had ever been taught and has learned. Magic is real and not only is it real but it and the whole world revolving around it are both horrifying and deadly. Not only that but he eventually finds out that his family has been hiding a secret from him that is even harder to swallow then learning that not only magic was real but he isn't even human.





	Beta Among Alphas: Secrets of the Lycanburgs

**Author's Note:**

> So I am posting this on here to see what people think of this and if I should continue on rewriting my original story! I want to eventually turn it into an actual book and add Illustrations and stuff (I'm an actual Illustration Major by the way)
> 
> Please tell me what you think!

Chapter 1

Maxumus was more than a little peeved… again. Like what they had done many times his parents were once again leaving for what his parents liked to call traveling for business. Maxumus wasn’t fooled. He knew that the pair were going to go on another vacation, which they did monthly. He couldn’t remember them ever not doing so, every month for a week at the very least, since as far back as he could remember. His parents were people of ritual routine and because of that Maxumus had become obsessive about such things as well.

Maxumus was long past the stage of being resentful and was fully committed to his seething hate. He may have been closer to feeling angry hurt if his parents weren’t so eager to rub every little thing in his face. The pair would go on and on about every little thing that they did that he could not. Taking great pleasure in describing every detail of what they would do without him and reminding him that he would never be allowed to leave let alone get away from them. This controllingness of theirs made it so he was rarely even allowed to leave the inside of their manor to wonder the grounds let alone leave to venture into the world. To Maxumus’ knowledge, his mother had even birthed him there. Though not an unusual occurrence to his understanding. What was unusual, even to himself, however, was that he had never set foot past the garden let alone outside of the grounds.

Maxumus knew that his parents had never wanted a child. He had figured that out long before they began saying much about it. From what he had heard and been told they hadn’t even thought it was a possibility. Though they didn’t want him and he was sure that they had a mutual distaste for each other, As in he and his parents, they still were as possessive of him as they were with everything of theirs. Maxumus had been stuck in that manor his whole life like some valuable knickknack that sat around but was never shown off or used. Just something to hide away, knowing no one else had one. It was something that didn’t surprise him honestly. It just made his hate and distrust of the pair grow as time idled on, honestly. 

Maxumus was fed up. He wasn’t allowed to go outside. He wasn’t allowed to leave. He had gone so far as to ask, repeatedly, if he could leave with them just once and they laughed each time and would mock him. The pair would talk to him like he was no more intelligent than an infant. Maxumus was always a bit relieved for some strange reason that they wouldn’t even give his request the slightest thought for the world was full of barbaric people. It was dirty and loud from what he had read in books but it peeved him to no end that he wasn’t ever even given the choice to leave. Being so controlled all of the time made him feel like he could fall to madness at the drop of a hat. What was worse was that the pair had the gull to act like they were doing him a favor when he knew they cared for him less then they did the head of their manor staff and they thought of those below her as mere rats to be stomped. Truthfully the pair hardly even looked at him until he was nearly a teenager except for when they wanted someone to taunt and torment on the rare occasion that they were home.

Like most days that all three Lycanburgs were home there were arguments. Maxumus didn’t want to be jailed up, forced to stay inside of the manor, while his parents were gone. Only rarely was he allowed to go outdoors when his parents were there and not at all when they were away and who knew how long they would be gone? The family had half a dozen groundskeepers at the very least and more than double that in servants. No way would anything be able to happen to him with that many people around. Even as incompetent as most likely were. It was ridiculous that he was unable to leave the manor when his parents weren’t home.

His mother grasped a pelt and draped it around her neck like a scarf then turned to look at her petite son. “We will only be gone for a week or two Maxumus, honestly I do not understand why you are so upset!" She said, looking indignant. Her nose, like always, was in the air, affronted.

Maxumus fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Whatever you say, mother." He felt the start of a sneer tugging at his lips. "Just remember to behave." She said, her voice ringing sickly sweet in his ears. Maxumus had trouble even looking at her, these fake niceties. It was revolting. He forced himself to stare into the glass eyes of the half dozen fox heads draped garishly across his mother's shoulders and focused his attention on studying every detail of their slender snouts in a subtle attempt to look as if he were actually focused on his mother. Like he actually cared about anything she was saying. "Look at me," she said, smiling sickly sweet. Maxumus’ face involuntarily pinched further at her tone.

Maxumus knew that any sweetness spewed from the woman was the worst sort of false kindness. She was like, he, and his father. Not the nicest sort of person, honestly she worse in every way imaginable, far worse. The woman was merely much more careful about showing off some of the worst bits of her true disposition.

“Yes,  as you wish mother," Maxumus spat, calling the woman such felt like putrid oil on his tongue. Maxumus stared up at the woman’s, strange, glowing bronze colored face. Her thick curly ringlets of almost neon orange hair cupped it. He wasn’t sure how but somehow those traits made the woman look even more unnaturally beautiful. A pity, Maxumus knew she would use those traits to get whatever she desired if she thought she could get away with it.

"Oh, and sweetie?" The woman clicked her tongue. "how does mommy look?" She more demanded than asked. He face light up with a crooked grin. The twisted expression completely contradicted the sweet almost child-like voice she was using.

"You look fine. " Maxumus hissed. The woman pursed her lips, expression not as playful as before at her son’s reaction. "Now, what do you say to your mommy?" She pressed. Maxumus grunted, it wasn’t hard to tell that he had angered her by not playing along with her games in the way she wanted him to.

 “Have a good time mother.” Maxumus reluctantly said, making sure that the woman could see the poison in his eyes. "Oh, thank you, honey." She said, giving him an equally toxic glare. Maxumus couldn’t help but to feel satisfied at managing to rile the vile woman up. The icing on the cake was when he had managed to keep eye contact long enough and with enough disgust that she was the first to break eye contact and walk away, a rare occurrence.

Clearly furious and becoming angrier as the moments ticked by Lady Lycanburg stomped her way over to a young servant girl who looked like she was taking a quick water break. A foolish thing to do outside of the kitchens. The enraged lady of the house glared accusingly at the young woman pure cruel intent radiating from her. Even though the girl was simply doing what she been instructed to do only a few minutes beforehand by, Tarsh, the middle-aged man that supervised her. The young woman immediately cowered, even though she was relatively new she was already quite familiar with the sight of the woman's wrath. “How dare you lazy about you disgusting little rat! I feed you, cloth you, keep a roof over your grotesque ungrateful head!” Lady Lycanburg shrieked. She stormed closer to the girl and jabbed at her with a spiked heel. A crazed gleam of rage glazed her luminescent hazel eyes.

The housekeeper curled in on herself sobbing. She had seen what happened to others when Lady Lycanburg got into one of her moods. She hadn’t ever thought that the woman would end up doing something to her though. She hadn’t been there long after all and she was a good worker, a quiet one to!

 “You better be off this damn floor by the time I make it to the door! Do you hear me, you lump headed beast?” Lady Lycanburg snarled, pulling harshly on the girl's hair and clawing at her scalp. “Ye-yes ma'am! Please-please just-just stop! I’ll do as you say, ma’am, I’m sorry!” The girl pled. “Good, once you get your lazy filthy arse off of my good rug you will get the bloody hell out of my home, do you understand?!” Lady Lycanburg hissed even as she stared Maxumus down with a feral sneer firmly planted on her face. She was quick to give the poor girl’s mousy hair one last brutal yank after her son narrowed his own eyes in challenge at her.

 “Oh, yes Ma'am! Yes, Ma'am! I promise I’ll be out!” The girl trembled with wide eyes. The moment the women let go the girl hit the floor with a painful sounding thump. Bruises were quickly forming becoming noticeably darker and darker as the minutes ticked by. The girl had thought herself mostly safe. Lady Lycanburg seemed to have little interest in bothering her from her work as she wasn’t the most attractive of girls. Mrs. Lycanburg was a dangerously jealous and vain woman, after all, and so it was always good to be a rather plain looking individual when working for the family. That clearly didn’t matter as much as the brunette had thought…. At least not when the Lycanburg matriarch was in a right foul mood.

Lady Lycanburg glanced at a clock on a nearby wall. She sneered once she realized she was already quite late. She ignored the fact that her narcissistic preening in front of the mirror was what made her so late and instead already blamed it on the girl. Just for that, the woman gave her former employee one last scathing glance and a sharp jab to the gut before adjusting her clothing and walking to the door with a snotty sniff.

"Remember what I said, weaver. I mean it! If I find out that you lingered, I will have your head girl." She hissed, her tone of voice pure poison. The young maid let out a shuddering sob. She felt frozen with fear and even when she tried to get up her stomach burned like it was on fire. She knew the woman was certain to do as promised if she didn’t obey her. Abitha crawled quickly to the cabinet she had been standing near trying her best to pull herself up. It was agonizing, but she would prefer suffering the pain of a few broken bones and bruises than die whatever horrific death the lady of the house was sure to put her through. Abitha had heard that the last girl to get a threat had her tongue ripped out and was served alive to Lord Lycanburg on one of his monthly trips. Defiantly not something she wanted happening to her!

Maxumus had stood near the doorway of the room. He had heard every word of what his mother said and had clearly won that fight. He couldn’t help but feel a little smug. Incidents like that happened nearly constantly and Maxumus swore it was getting worse. The red-head had often wondered if any of his parents’ associates realized how sadistic and unstable the pair actually was. For all, he knew they were just as bad as them. Maybe they didn’t even care? They willingly subjected themselves to the couple after all and Maxumus doubted that his parents could play nice for long no matter the company.

Abitha looked up at Maxumus with imploring eyes, body trembling from fear and pain. He curled his lip. Lycanburg’s didn’t help those below themselves. He wasn’t a servant after all. Maxumus had been that taught such a thing was taboo from a young age. They were unclean, lesser, not to be shown mercy of the slightest sort. He watched apathetically at her attempts to pull herself up and held his timepiece to eye level still irritated with his mother. This girl was an easy target. "You know girl, such feeble attempts to stand have far exceeded my mother's time restraints? It is no wonder why you are nothing but a lowly servant and yet you cannot follow such simple orders properly. What use are you? Whatever shall you do?” He said, still angry with his mother but starting to feel ever so slightly better. The girl was honestly making a nice distraction and way to let go of some of his hate.

Abitha gritted her teeth together. Her anger finally bubbled over as she managed to pull herself up using the cabinet. Her legs trembled but she hardly even felt the pain as her whole being filled with boiling rage. Abitha couldn’t hold her tongue any longer with the way the Lycanburg’s had treated everyone. They were monsters and Maxumus was the least dangerous beast of the bunch. Someone Abitha could lash out at with little threat of death, unlike his parents. He was more of a more bark than bite sort; even she could tell that much. "Why? Why are you people like-like this? Are you all insane? The only reason I took this job was that I wanted to prove to my parents that I can take care of myself! Of course, I end up working for crazy people! I should have bloody listen to my mum... She told me that you shouldn't live and work in the same place. Then got furious with me for taking a job here. She told me you were all a bunch of monsters, but I wouldn't listen! I wanted to work for the Lycanburgs! Why was I so stupid?" She wailed, gradually sounding more and more hysterical.

Maxumus balled up his fist and forced himself to slip them behind his back then narrowed his eyes at the girl.  "And why do you think I would need to know this? Do you think I do not know the way my family is? Do you think that you would make me feel pity? I thought my mother has fired you and told you to leave instead you sit her wasting your own precious time and mine all just to squawk at me.” Maxumus sniffed making a point to eye the clock on the wall in the corner of the room.

"I would think that you would like to hurry now. You have very little time to leave. Maybe five minutes until Lucille, I believe, will be in here to check on you. If you do not leave by then, she is likely to…. Get rid of you and believe me, she will. My mother has many... less than desirable traits. Breaking promises about such things is not one of them." Maxumus explained, his tone cold. It was not like he could or would do anything to prevent her death. She was just a servant, nothing worth risking himself over.

               Maxumus knew better than to cross the woman. Years of experience had taught him that much. There had been very little physically abusing or really any physical contact in general, but she had given him plenty of mental and emotional beatings, starting at him at a young age. She usually had little effect on him now, but that did not mean that he was going to give the woman a reason to start going after him again. His father was not much better. But thankfully ignored and interacted even less with him.

Maxumus watched the girl hobble out of the room and presumably to the employee's quarters sniffling all the while.  Maxumus sighed once he knew she was finally out of sight and decided to get ready for his lessons. As he waited in his study, he stacked, reorganized, and readjusted everything sitting on his desk and in his desk drawers until he found them once again satisfactory. It was clear to him that someone had gone through his things again, most likely his father to spite him.

Keeping everything perfectly neat and orderly had become a sort of ritual for Maxumus. It couldn’t be helped with his strong compulsion to organize and straighten up all of his things to perfection before he could even manage to pick up a piece of parchment. Trying to reassure himself that everything was in its rightful place and that no one had dared to steal anything away from him as he had noticed often happened.

               After Maxumus had repeatedly assured himself that nothing else had been taken or tampered with, he glanced at a clock that sat on the bookshelf in front of his desk. He had a little over 15 minutes left until his private tutor, Dr. Newman, would arrive. Maxumus then went to the bathroom and once he had finished his business, and washed his hands,  Maxumus automatically reached for a comb. One always brushed their hair before leaving the restroom after all.

Staring in a mirror back at Maxumus, was a delicately featured freckled face with large almost almond-shaped leaf green eyes with flecks of gold throughout the irises. Maxumus, almost seeming to be hypnotized as he ran the comb through his shock of wildfire colored curls, counting away each stroke. His mother had once told him that his blonde highlights were an uncommon trait among their kind… Whatever that meant. Her hazel eyes had been filled with a gleam of both envy and a twisted pride. Apparently, the different shades of red that he had hints of were very common in her side of the family and the majority which was various shades of bright orange were rather common as well, but the mixture of colors and tones were not. His curls were a mixture between shades of what looked to be a burning fire and strawberry blonde.

Curls were also a common trait in the family. But there were few like his. Maxumus' were large silky thick ringlets clinging to his head in tight clumps, not like the others who's were more like sheep's wool. Most of Maxumus' other family members that his mother told him about had the sheep's wool-like hair. She, herself would happily brag about her own hair after that.

Maxumus was sure that his mother thought that he was too dumb to realize she didn’t have the same hair as himself and that her hair was naturally like the others he had heard tidbits about. It was easy to see that she did whatever she could to prevent her’s from going back to the way that it naturally was. Though for once he didn’t fault her for that as surely having such hair would be difficult to deal with. His own was hard enough on its own.  Maxumus had never had the chance to hear much about past family members just the little his mother would spout sometimes. It was clear that she was happy that they were all gone though.

Maxumus forced himself to stop, he could not have had much time left before the tutor showed up. Maxumus sat his comb down, making sure that it was in the exact spot as before. He then rewashed his hands before leaving the bathroom. When he got back to his study, his tutor was already there. Maxumus couldn’t help but feel a little happy to see the man. Dr. Newman was a nice man, a bit too whimsical for his taste sometimes but probably the person he tolerated being around the most.

Mr. Newman insisted on forcing Maxumus to read silly books about wizards, dragons, vampires, and fairies. The man liked to babble on the most about Sorcerers even as he swore Maxumus to secrecy for even bringing up the topics. Ever since Maxumus was a small child the rotund man would ask him what creatures he liked or found interest in. The man always seemed a little disappointed with Maxumus’ answers as he would answer that he thought those questions were childish. Maxumus did not have his head in the clouds, something, that he prided himself on. He found it confusing that the teacher seemed sad about him being so logical minded. How could that ever be a bad thing?

That day the old professor was pestering Maxumus again with silly nonsense. A new book, with a new subject, werewolves. "Why werewolves sir? Why do we not simply read of the fall of Romans or astronomy, animals even?" Maxumus grumbled, exasperation evident in his tone as he scowled.

Dr. Newman sighed looking like he was fighting rolling his eyes. "Most boys your age would be glad to be free of such dry subjects! I’m trying to broaden your imagination. Surely that poor thing is wilted with a sourpuss such as yourself at the helm!” The elderly man teased, sounding like he was speaking to a young child. Maxumus wriggled his nose disapprovingly. Just because he was uninterested in such childish thoughts didn’t mean any part of him was… sour! "I am not s-sour! I just pursue tried and true knowledge instead of pursuing the delusions of a child." He barked, indignant.

Dr. Newman gave the teen an unimpressed look. More than used to Maxumus’ behaviors. The teenager liked to correct him and usually outright refused to do anything that he thought wasn’t ‘adult’ like. It had been that way since Maxumus had been a small boy. He refused to open his mind up to anything and listened about as well as a wet cat. It made it impossible for the boy to find the double meaning in anything he tried to show or teach him because of his constant need to be right and in control. It was incredibly irritating. Maxumus hadn’t ever even thought of questioning anything he showed him. Maxumus wasn’t just incredibly difficult to teach but to get along with as well with his constant need to be right and in control. Dr. Newman couldn’t help but to feel a conflicting mixture of fondness and dislike for the boy especially as he didn’t blame the boy for his behavior. He was exactly what his parents molded him to be. Honestly, the poor boy didn't stand a chance living with such twisted monsters.

Maxumus was much happier when they had finally gotten over the subject of magical creatures and on to the matter of mathematics. Everything to him was perfect when it came to the subject. There was always some type of solution, easy to predict and find. Math problems did not change; they never hid anything. Every problem could be solved with a little logic. No magical nonsense nor imagination was required. It was just as everything should be, sensible. Maxumus had a feeling the subject of beasts and stupidity wouldn’t be dropped this time around. The man almost seemed desperate for Maxumus to begin to enjoy such subjects in the last few sessions.  It was almost concerning how insistent the man had become.

It didn’t take long for the elderly man to bring the topic up again. Just as Maxumus had dreaded, Dr. Newman brought up the magical creatures conversation immediately after he was done with his daily work. The teen clearly stared into space painfully annoyed with the plump man’s babbling. Why couldn’t Dr. Newman understand that he just didn’t have any interest in make-believe?

Neither the doctor nor Maxumus gave up. Maxumus refusing to listen to such foolishness and Dr. Newman refused to be quieted on the subject, not this time! Dr. Newman wanted so badly for Maxumus to understand, to see. He was his only hope after all!

"Must we really go on about these crazy make-believe things? Neither of us will come to an agreement." Maxumus finally grumbled, his tone became nearly a whine.  Dr. Newman's face was beginning to take on a pinkish hue from the exertion of self-control. Almost every other lesson Maxumus worked him up into a frenzy ready to pounce and strangle him alive. He could not merely disagree like a reasonable person would he had to mock and belittle him until he was ready to just give up and off the boy! Maxumus was honestly luck that he really did care about the boy. Even with his fondness for the boy in those times, he had to mentally chant to himself that it wasn’t the boy’s fault he was such a terror. If Maxumus got particularly nasty that day Dr. Newman would suck in large gushes of air, enlarging is already plump belly and causing his large walrus mustache to blow about like a wet mop.

"Now Maxumus, please do not be so rude. J-just because you do not agree with something does not mean that it is appropriate to react the way that you have. It will make someone feel bad." The tutor explained through clenched teeth.

"I do not see why I should not criticize such idiotic ideas. People should want me to do so should they not? I am just explaining why I am right and why I always will be!" Maxumus insisted, staring up at the man with clear challenge.

The man groaned finally unable to take any more, "Oh, Maxumus," Dr. Newman said, massaging his forehead, "let's just get on to another subject please?"  He looked at Maxumus as if he were hopeless. He may not have been good at reading others, but Maxumus couldn’t help but feel oddly insulted. He puffed up. "Why would you want to change the subject? There is nothing wrong with our pre-" Before Maxumus could say another word, Dr. Newman quickly butted in. "I said, let's change the subject, now!" The elder man snapped. Dr. Newman didn’t like getting short with the boy, but he clearly needed to teach him boundaries. If he was the only model for appropriate behavior than it was his responsibility to teach the boy the best he could in the situation that they were in.

Dr. Newman switched gears and grabbed the old worn book he had brought with him. It was just an average looking book. Nothing special looking about it. The book was not valuable looking, it was not signed, the front cover was half worn off. He had bought it for hardly the equivalent of a dime many years beforehand.

The book's front cover was mostly torn off exposing brittle tea stained pages. It was a favorite of his on the subject. It was just a shame he couldn’t remember how the front cover and the title pages ended up torn from their binding. He gently caressed its loose almost bare spine and held it out to Maxumus. If anything could teach him something, it would be that book. He had even taken the risk of adding his own notes in the margins.

Maxumus scrunched his nose with a disgusted sneer. "What are you doing waving that thing around anywhere near me?" He asked, grimacing at the manky looking old thing. Dr. Newman’s eye twitched. “Why would you think I would be waving an old book under your nose, boy?" Maxumus looked offended, "I am not an idiot!” He grumbled. Pausing with a pained look for a few moments Maxumus’ face twisted up in a put upon expression. “Let me guess this is the rubbish you demand that I read?” Maxumus hissed, glaring at the ratty book in revulsion. Dr. Newman shoved the book into his hands. "I'll be expecting you to have this done by the end of next week." The man said.

"As you wish, Sir." Maxumus grimaced and held the book between two of his fingers in an attempt to touch as little of it as possible. He knew that there was no way the man would let him get out of reading the piece of garbage. "Good good!" The man said smiling a little smugly at the lack of argument. "Oh, I had no idea that I've been here so long! I definitely have overstayed my welcome!” He exclaimed with a chuckle. "Well, I must be going, Max!" He said. Maxumus nodded and began putting the books they had used away as the man leaned down to tie his shoes. After that, both made their way to the main door. Maxumus politely outstretched his hand to shake his teachers. It was only polite after all. "Until Wednesday!" The man cheerfully exclaimed. "Yes, until Wednesday," Maxumus said, sounding far less enthusiastic. He closed the door behind his teacher as he exited the home, glad to be away from him. Though still not pleased about the book the man had forced on him. Especially as it looked like it had been sat out in a moldy attic for at least a half a dozen decades.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!
> 
> Please review! :)


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